This week, the nation saw a historic action in the House of Representatives. Eight Republican lawmakers joined the entire House Democratic caucus to remove Kevin McCarthy from the Speakership.

The motion to vacate – the procedural tool used to remove McCarthy - is politics at its worst and nothing more than grandstanding by one politician for personal gain. The overwhelming majority of our conference supports Kevin McCarthy, and under his leadership, the Republican majority passed legislation to secure the border, boost energy production, and cut wasteful Washington spending. I’m frustrated that a handful of Republicans joined with all House Democrats to essentially bring our government to a halt.

Now, instead of using our limited time to fund the government and secure the border, the business of the House has come to a stop until we elect a new Speaker of the House. I remain committed to working for Central Valley families – we need to be unified and govern in the best interest of the American people.

Last week, I sent a newsletter update regarding government funding. Since that last update, Congress passed a stopgap funding measure, avoiding a shutdown and giving the House and Senate additional time to finish our appropriations bills and find agreement on funding levels.

In my last update, I included a survey about the potential for a government shutdown. The results overwhelmingly showed the majority of you were concerned about a shutdown – something I will continue working with my colleagues to avoid as we work on passing fiscally responsible funding bills.

This week, my office hosted a Service Academy Information Night in Porterville. This yearly event connects middle and high school students across the 22^nd Congressional District with leaders from our nation’s Service Academies.

Nominating the Valley's best and brightest for our Service Academies is one of the best parts of my job. These young men and women are our future leaders and it’s an honor to be able to recommend them to some of the best academic institutions in our country.

To learn more about the service academy nominations, click here.

This week, I was honored to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) food bank here in Bakersfield. I helped to secure federal funding for this expansion, which will help thousands of food-insecure residents in Kern County. I want to thank the CAPK team and our community partners for their work on this important project.  

Flu season is here again, and it’s important to remember to get your flu shot and help keep yourself and your family healthy. Next week, Adventist Health will be hosting a free drive-thru flu clinic on Saturday, October 15^th. The clinic will open at 7:00 a.m. and will go until all doses are gone.

Our question this week comes from John in Hanford. He asks:

“When is the House going to quit talking and fund the actual closure of the southern border?”

Thank you for your question, John. I share your frustrations about the chaos we've seen at our southern border. September saw the highest number of border crossings of any month this year, with over 200,000 apprehensions by Border Patrol. Not only is this a major national security risk, but it is also a humanitarian crisis. 

Last week, the House voted on a funding bill that included some of the strongest border security measures we've seen in decades. Unfortunately, some of my colleagues who claim to support securing the border voted against that Continuing Resolution, so we were unable to force the Senate into negotiating with us on the border. 

No matter what party you belong to, I think we can all agree that the border, and the migrant crisis that arises from it, is an incredibly serious problem that must be addressed. Unfortunately, because of the removal of Speaker McCarthy, the House has come to a complete stop and we are unable to vote on any border security measure until a new Speaker is elected. 

I'm committed to working with my colleagues to secure our border and enact real immigration reforms. 

Do you have a question about my position on an issue? How the Congress operates? My thoughts on the news of the day?

Send your first name, town, and question to AskDavid@mail.house.gov and I might answer yours right here in one of my weekly newsletters. Make sure to subscribe to my weekly email updates to see if your question was answered!

If you want to share your opinion with me on issues of importance, you can always contact me on my website.

Did you know you can now sign up for texts from my office to stay up to date on my work in Washington D.C.? To sign up to receive updates from me directly to your phone, just text VALADAO to (559) 387-4346 and you will be automatically subscribed. You can also sign up for text alerts using this form here.  

I'll be using this newsletter as a way to keep you updated on my work in Congress. Make sure to sign up for regular updates and follow my Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up with my work.